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ForestWatch
BLM Old-Growth Shell Game
The Medford BLM's public lands old-growth logging program is a case study of nepotism and dysfunction. First the BLM withdrew from the NW Forest Plan so that it could write itself a "Resource Management Plan" that calls for old-growth logging throughout the "Harvest Land Base." Then BLM timber planners decided that they need not analyze the effects of old-growth logging "in detail" or consider alternatives to old-growth logging. Now the BLM intends to also target old-growth forests located in the Late Successional Reserves for canopy removal to create "open seral conditions." See: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/123406/510
The sad truth is that the Medford BLM does not value old-growth forests, the wildlife that relies on such habitat, or public input. It is an insular and myopic agency in dire need of reform.
Climate
Fire-Resistant Landscaping
This June, harden the landscape around your property with fire-resistant plants. Strategically planting fire-resistant plant species helps resist the spread of fire to your home.
What are Fire-Resistant Plants?
Fire-resistant plants don’t readily ignite from a flame or other ignition sources. Although these plants can be damaged or even killed by fire, their foliage and stems do not contribute significantly to the fuel and, therefore, the intensity of a fire.
To learn more about fire-resistant plants and materials, check out KS Wild’s Preparing for Wildfire Guidesheet.
Podcast
One Foot in the Black: Landscapes Shaped by Fire (Episode 2)
 One Foot in the Black is a six-episode podcast, which tells the story of fire in the West—how the landscape has been shaped by fire, how climate change is remaking the rules, and how our future of living with fire is tied to the past.
In Episode 2 we step back to learn about the role fire has played in shaping the landscapes of the West and how humans co-existed with fire before U.S. government policies on wildfire suppression and forced removal of Indigenous people. This is the story of Indigenous fire. We hear from tribal members and cultural fire practitioners about what we can learn from Tribes about putting fire back on the ground.
All episodes can be found on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and YouTube. It can be as easy as asking, "Alexa, play podcast One Foot in the Black."
Rogue Riverkeeper
Welcome to new Conservation Director, Emily Bowes
 Emily moved to Medford from Lawrence, Kansas a week before starting high school. Moving from the plains to an area full of mountains and rivers was quite a shock and she still hasn’t gotten over it. In high school, Emily volunteered with KS Wild’s Lesley Adams on the “Save the Wild Rogue” campaign, further ingraining her love for the area and the Rogue. She continued her education at Humboldt State University, receiving a B.S. in Biology with an emphasis on plant ecology. Before returning to KS Wild as Conservation Director for Rogue Riverkeeper, Emily contributed to sustainable natural resources management and the enforcement of environmental compliance policies working with private environmental compliance firms, the federal government, as well as other nonprofits in northern California and southern Oregon.
We are so excited to work with Emily to further Rogue Riverkeeper’s current campaigns and to build on past successes. We look forward to sharing more with you about Emily’s work, efforts, and contributions in the months and years ahead.
Wildlife
Pacific Fisher
 The Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti), a forest carnivore, lives in old-growth forests of the northern U.S. and Canada. They are specialized animals that frequently travel along waterways and rest in or on live trees, snags, or logs with cavities. These characteristics are usually only found in large, undisturbed tracts of old forest. In addition to the severe loss and fragmentation of habitat caused by logging, development, trapping and road building, fisher have been harmed by widespread use of rat poisons (rodenticides) often used in the cultivation of cannabis.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service continues to deny petitions for listing Pacific fisher as endangered. KS Wild recently joined the Center for Biological Diversity and EPIC in filing our intent to sue the Service over its denial of protections to the majority of fishers on the West Coast. You can read the press release here.
Special Places + Permanent Protections
Senator Ron Wyden re-introduces the ORE Act
 The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act protects southwest Oregon’s wild rivers, wild salmon, and wild steelhead. Community members like you have already helped secure a temporary moratorium on strip mining in the Baldface, Rough & Ready, and Hunter Creek watersheds in Josephine and Curry Counties, and we are pleased to see Senator Wyden’s latest bill wants to make those temporary protections permanent. The inclusion of the Southwest Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act (SOWSPA) within the Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act ensures more than 100,000 acres of public land in these watersheds are afforded permanent and long-lasting safeguards from hard-rock strip mining.
Please thank Senator Ron Wyden for continuing to advocate for wild rivers & public lands in southwest Oregon.
 Love Where You Live Event Series: Biodiversity in the Klamath-Siskiyou
Join KS Wild for a monthly, online event series featuring guest speakers exploring special topics around biodiversity in the Klamath-Siskiyou.
Bridging the gaps between traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary science
Thursday, June 24th - 6:00-7:00pm PST (Online)
Guest speaker Keith Parker, a Yurok Tribe Senior Fisheries Biologist, discusses how the Klamath River Basin supports the highest diversity of lamprey species of any single watershed in the world. Learn about this tribal trust fish species protected under tribal treaty and the importance of it for the Tribes of the Klamath Basin.
Brought to you by Native Fish Society and KS Wild
Sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs
For more information on our speakers and to sign up for the event, visit our website.
 6th Annual Star Thistle Weed Pull at the Mariposa Lily Preserve
Wednesday, June 23rd - 3:30-6:30pm PST (Online)
Join KS Wild, Bureau of Land Management, the Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society, and Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument for an invasive weed pull in the Mariposa Preserve. Just outside of Ashland, this 222-acre Botanical Area is a designated conservation area (botanical preserve) that lies within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. It serves to protect two rare endemic plants: Greene's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus greenei) (the Botanical Area's namesake) and Detling's microseris (Microseris laciniata ssp. detlingii).
Sign up for more details about where to meet and what to bring!
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